ONTARIO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Clippers played their final preseason game of 2022 on Wednesday, but if head coach Tyronn Lue's comments are any indication, then Kawhi Leonard's team is in for a bit of a rough ride.
The Clippers dropped their second preseason game in as many attempts, falling to the Denver Nuggets, 126-115. Guys like John Wall and Marcus Morris performed really well. Norman Powell dropped 34 points in limited minutes. Even Moussa Diabate showed flashes in his limited minutes of being able to do all the intangibles.
But following Wednesday night's game, Lue called out his own team for their lack of professionalism against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
“I thought tonight we didn’t handle well,” Tyronn Lue said postgame. “We didn’t come out with a professional mindset. I didn’t like the way we approached the game tonight. I didn’t like that.”
“I thought tonight we didn’t handle well. We didn’t come out with a professional mindset. I didn’t like the way we approached the game tonight. I didn’t like that. We just can’t throw games like this away. We got to be better.”
Tyronn Lue on the Clippers loss to the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/H8KGAf4D2r
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 13, 2022
The Clippers finished with 20 turnovers on the night, a lot of them unforced and uncharacteristic of a team trying to spend as much time as possible jelling for the new season.
One factor could be the time, as the majority of the players on this Clippers team are veteran players. Those vets — from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to Ivica Zubac and Nicolas Batum — are all ready to start off the new season next week.
Another could be not taking the competition seriously at times. The depth on this Clippers team has many calling them one of the deepest in NBA history. It's certainly the best Clippers roster in franchise history, and it'd be a monumental achievement for the franchise if they could win the NBA championship this year.
In order to do so, games like Wednesday's can't happen, even in the preseason.
“We’ve got a veteran team,” Tyronn Lue added. “But our approach is every night, no matter when it is, we’re playing, we got to try and get better. Because we’re building towards something that’s more important than just a preseason game.
“We got to get better. Defensively, as you see tonight. Offensively, what we’re going to run, how we’re going to share the basketball. Taking care of the basketball. And so there’s things we got to work on to get better at. And so we just can’t throw games like this away. Like, we got to be better.”
“I thought tonight we didn’t handle well. We didn’t come out with a professional mindset. I didn’t like the way we approached the game tonight. I didn’t like that. We just can’t throw games like this away. We got to be better.”
Tyronn Lue on the Clippers loss to the Nuggets pic.twitter.com/H8KGAf4D2r
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 13, 2022
Lue actually spent the better part of the last few press conferences insisting that his team isn't ready for the start of the season yet.
“I always feel like we are behind, as a coach in training camp, which I'm pretty sure 29 other coaches are saying the same thing, how much to add, when to slow down. So right now, I’m in that mode of not knowing how much to put in and when to slow down. So I am not ready yet.”
Following his 1-of-11 shooting night in his only other preseason game last week, Norman Powell came out Wednesday night and scored 34 points in just 25 minutes on an ultra-efficient 11-of-14 shooting from the field. While Powell performed well, the team struggled, turning the ball over and repeatedly slipping up defensively.
“We got to tighten up,” Norman Powell said postgame. “We know. We know the hype around the team, we know how our roster is built, we know the expectations. And everybody around the league knows. And we got to approach the game better, we got to prepare better, we have to be mentally locked in. Teams are going to give us all they have out there and attack us and not going to take plays off.”
The Clippers trotted out their all-wing lineup in Sunday night's loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kawhi Leonard sat out Wednesday night's game, so there wasn't an opportunity to try it again. Lue did tinker with some lineups to see who would fit well with who, and there were some impressive things done with those units. Unfortunately, it was in a losing effort thanks to the porous defense that was on display.
“We have a target on our back a little bit just because of the hype and how the roster is built,” Powell added. “We just got to do better, it comes with being focused, locked in on practice, everything that we need to do and carry it over to the games. I would agree that we didn’t have that right mental approach and lock in with these seven days that we have off and get ready for the 20th.”
“We got to tighten up. We know. We know the hype around the team, how our roster is built, the expectations… “We got to approach the game better, we got to prepare better, we have to be mentally locked in.”
Norman Powell agrees with Clippers coach Tyronn Lue. pic.twitter.com/4rlW6dh5em
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 13, 2022
The Clippers tip off opening night against the Los Angeles Lakers on Oct. 20. Head coach Tyronn Lue says the next week of no games and all practices for the team allows him to direct a sort of “second training camp” before the season starts.
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